Because Anonymity Is A Funny Thing

Social media is often unregulated, sometimes for the better. Sure, when there are 50 comments about an article about some cultural issue, it can indicate that there are still a handful of people who actually care about a topic that affects the every day lives of millions. Unfortunately, for every handful of those individuals, there is always twice that number worrying about what Snapchat filter would best highlight their assets or whether they would be able to hit one hundred likes for their Facebook profile picture. Of course I am not ignoring how it is intriguing to be privy to the details of someone’s life, the kind of aspects I wouldn’t know about that individual just by seeing them in class or knowing their name. Admittedly, with the kind of transparency that social media is able to provide, it adds another layer of danger in terms of the concealing of select information, whether it be where you live or with whom you’ve been romantically involved. Particularly, the withholding of information in political sectors has thankfully become an impossibility—hooray for the increase in general public knowledge, but goodbye to living a world of ignorant bliss. Just when I had condemned social media to be a modern evil, it recently proved its worth. On Facebook, I was able to watch the video of a South Carolina sheriff’s deputy who dragged a student from her desk, due to her refusal to leave her seat when asked by the deputy. His manhandling of her, with a disregard to her dignity and the honor his profession upholds, was disgusting and disturbing to see. But how could I have possibly known about an event in a state 800 miles away from me without social media? Sure, if the event had been spread on a local level, the mayor of Columbia, SC would have still published the standard public statement: “We cannot and will not accept this kind of behavior from any law enforcement officer and I firmly believe that we need an independent investigation.” Cue the rehearsed apology from the Columbia police department and the term of leave on which the offender is put. This isn’t the first time that a member of the United States police force has displayed actions that contradict the moral values that they are supposed to protect and uphold. But this forty-eight second video only further affirmed my belief that police brutality has become misinterpreted to be a strictly racial battle. It is unfortunate that the high school girl who was dragged from a seat in an uncouth manner was black and the police officer was a white male. Why? Because this is a perfect example for racial and gender rights advocates to utilize in their propaganda when criticizing America and its so-called principles. The article I had reading the Guardian quoted a founding member of the Richland Two Black Parents Association: “We formed because it was so obvious the white parents were getting the best access and opportunities. But we are a community of black parents who want to get involved.”  What bothered me the most about this, was how by this man, Stephen Gilchrist, made a comment that only further differentiated the American black and white population. What could have strictly been an event that criticized the police force, has become a battle of races. Now there is a large amount of criticisms that I can make about the task forces within the States. As someone who has lived in New York all her life, I have not only witnessed, but also have been victimized by the police force. Because of the commendable mannerisms of a select few, becoming a policeman is often regarded as a noble act, all because the profession is associated with working for the betterment of the community. Out of curiosity, I searched up the requirements to becoming a police officer and lo and behold, the requirements are minor. As long as an individual has a high school diploma or equivalent (though some agencies require a college degree or college-level training), he or she is eligible to become a police officer. Of course, one needs to be at least 21 years old and must train. An associate or bachelor degree in a criminal justice or related discipline can be helpful, but the degree isn’t always a prerequisite. What frightens me is that in an ideal case, a police officer will have gone through a formal academic education to learn about law enforcement—but often police officers will not always be academically and socially advanced when promoting and acting upon the government’s will. The kind of police officers that I have seen and that is depicted in that video of the high school in Columbia, SC, shows the ugliness of many policemen’s bestial mannerisms. Such individuals do not make up the entirety of the police force, but there are enough to make any citizen uneasy about the guarantee of their safety. The superficial nature of social media is apparent in the war for more likes on a picture or the reckless abandon of civility when disagreeing with a controversial news article, but I do have to recognize its power. Power is a funny thing. There isn’t much you can accomplish in today’s society without the power of money or personal connections. You could be the most socially apt individual in the whole country and never have your big break, all because you don’t have the figures or the couple of phone numbers in your pocket.Here’s the great thing about social media: it can provide you the anonymity that you can never have in a face-to-face encounter. This anonymity is what protected the identity of whichever student shot and uploaded the video of the high school student being dragged out of her seat. But with that anonymity, there was the price of being unable to speak out about the despicable actions of that police officer. To take it to a larger and more applicable context, every time you speak or dress a certain way, the general public is creating a profile of you in perhaps a perfunctory manner. Your peers slap labels on your person the instant they see the shade of your skin or your facial features. Yes, the slanted eyes and the tan skin with jet black hair must always be indicative of Asian descent, right? But of course, if they attend a private school, this must mean that they are international students and therefore financially endowed. Ah yes, I almost forgot that all of their mothers must get together every month and share with each other what standardized testing prep schools their kids go to.It’s hard to believe that anyone would make such ignorant comments, especially from an elitist point of view. The very idiocy of some students who do not recognize that we are part of the benefited, makes legend no longer just a part of the literature and TV shows that generalize and mystify private school life. Change cannot be put into action with simply the occasional anonymous obscene comments in disagreement on social media. There is an undeniable sense of comfort that anonymity is able to provide, but with the continuous utilization of it, we can bid revolution adieu for good.